Al Fazl, 7 & 10 November 1921
23 October 1921
A person wrote a false and baseless article in the issue of 21 October [1921] of Ahl-e-Hadith [newspaper] about Maulana Mir Muhammad Saeed Sahib of Hyderabad (currently residing in Mecca) and regarding our hajis [Muslims who have performed Hajj].
On the mention of this [article], Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] said:
“People do not hate Ahmadis as much as they hate Wahhabi over there, according to them, all the faults, if any, are present in the Wahhabis.”
Mistakes during Hajj
Whilst the aforesaid subject was being discussed, the mistakes people make during Hajj were mentioned. Huzoor[ra] said:
“I saw that a few Indians were carrying a charpoy [Indian bedstead] and were performing tawaf [circuit]. I asked them what that was. One person replied that a man had come for Hajj, but he passed away, so that was his tawaf al-wida [farewell circuit].”
Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sahib said, “I too saw many charpoys this time around, but I thought they might be meant for ill people.”
Meeting with non-Ahmadi Hafiz Sahib
Maulvi Hafiz Abdul Waris Sahib, who is the brother of Maulvi Abdul Malik Sahib (treasury advisor Bahawalpur), met [Hazrat Khalifatul Masih]. Huzoor[ra] asked, “Hafiz Sahib, what brings you here?” Hafiz Sahib said: “Maulvi Fazluddin Sahib (a lawyer) and I would often talk about the Promised Messiahas. I once intended to pay a visit in the time of the Promised Messiahas as well, but was not able to come. Now, I said to myself that as you are his successor, why not get some benefits from you. I came from Lahore with Mirza Sahib (Sultan Ahmad Khan Bahadur) yesterday. I am also currently staying with him.” Then, pointing towards Maulvi Fazluddin Sahib, he said, “He is my relative and knows full well that I have given up everything. All I want is that God Almighty bestows me His love in His name. I do not want anything else. I only ask of you that you pray for me because if I am not granted [the nearness of] God, then I have gained nothing.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“Surely, I will pray, insha-Allah. In fact, only God is the true; everything else will perish.”
Huzoor[ra] gave a Madrasi Hindu’s English letter to Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sahib for replying. He had written, “I loved the Holy Prophetsa very much, but then a discussion took place in a meeting. Soon after, I began doubting myself and then God. Then, my love for the Holy Prophetsa also diminished. Therefore, I am in a state of great confusion. Please, give me a satisfactory [answer].”
Chaudhry Sahib submitted about a contemporary English philosopher that he had written in his books that in terms of being a religion, Islam was better not only than Christianity but also than many other religions. However, he has raised more allegations against the Holy Prophetsa as compared to Jesus Christ.
Biography of the Holy Prophetsa
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih [IIra] said:
“I have repeatedly expressed the idea that a biography of the Holy Prophetsa should be written keeping in view the purpose for which he was sent. The biographies that have been written thus far are of two kinds. Either the enemies have written them or the biographers have just compiled his accounts. And there are also those who have written [about his life] by keeping in view the objections of European contemporaries in their minds. The approach of this class is also limited. What should be done is that the claim of the Holy Prophetsa should first be explained through a strong introduction and then the qualities that must be found within the claimant of such a claim should be presented. Then, one by one, the said attributes should be shown in the personage of the Holy Prophetsa. It is a wrong approach to prove that the Holy Prophetsa was a great king or a good administrator, because the true purpose of his [advent] was not kingship, etc. If his biography is written according to the said principles, then hopefully it will produce a positive impact.”
24 October 1921
Suspicion
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“Sometimes, suspicions develop with knowledge. When there were no thermometers, people would hardly care that much. However, now everything is felt immediately. In Kashmir, late Haji Umar Dar’s son Mian Abdul Aziz had a fever of over 104 °F. He still used to serve the guests, and would occasionally sit down for a bit as well.”
Arab conveyance
Regarding the conveyance in Arabia, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“During the days of Hajj, I saw a Turk fall off a camel and break his bones. People kept walking over him. We were told at the time that in Mecca only the nobles had two horses while the rest of the population had donkeys, mules and camels. Nowadays, the numbers of horses might have increased because the nobles have now become kings.” Huzoor[ra] said:
“Donkeys are well-trained and big in size. They are even faster than the mules. I saw that the mule of a person was bought for 1,500 rupees, and a high-quality donkey can be bought in three hundred rupees.”
Huzoor[ra] said:
“At first, I was a bit reluctant to ride a donkey, so I did not ride. However, I injured my leg on the way back from Mina. I still tried my best to walk, but when I could not walk, I got on the donkey and it strolled at a good pace.”
The government will not give anything to the Sharif of Mecca
Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sahib submitted that he had read in The Pioneer that the government had announced that they would not give anything to the Sharif [of Mecca].
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“All praise belongs to Allah! I was the first one to suggest that they should not try to subjugate the Arabs in this way.”
Issues of Turkey
Regarding the question about the Turkish government, Huzoor[ra] said:
“I wrote the solution to Turkey’s question in one of my previous articles that Thrace and Smyrna should come under the rule of Turkey because most of the population there is of Turks. Muslims opposed me on this issue, but the Turks and now even the Muslims have also arrived at the same point.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“If Thrace and Symrna are given to the Turks, their military power would remain intact. If they are handed over to Greece, then Turkey will diminish. Thereafter, the Turks will live under the rule of the Greeks.”
The hair of the Holy Prophetsa
Chaudhry Ghulam Muhammad Sahib BA submitted that a Sikh met him who said that Muslims were mistaken, because the Holy Prophetsa and the four Khulafa had kesh [uncut hair].
Huzoor[ra] said:
“The Holy Prophetsa had hair but they were not in the form of kesh.”
The hair of the Promised Messiah
The deputy editor [of Al Fazl] submitted that he had heard that the Promised Messiahas also had long hair. Sheikh Ghulam Ahmad Sahib (a new convert) used to say that when he first saw the Promised Messiahas in Ludhiana in the year 1881 or 1882, then the Promised Messiahas had long hair and a cap on his head similar to the one worn by a faqir [a dervish immersed in God’s love].
Huzoor[ra] said:
“Yes, the Promised Messiahas had long hair and also used to wear an Indian cap and a kullah which was not as short as it is today but was rather long. He also used to wear loose trousers.”
Al Fazl, 10 November 1921
Bai‘at
On 25 October 1921, after Maghrib prayer, Master Noor Ahmad Sahib of Pakhoke, Dera Baba Nanak, performed bai‘at [at the hands of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IIra].
Two couplets
After the recitation of a few poems after Asr prayer on 26 October 1921, Huzoor[ra] wrote two couplets and gave them to the deputy editor [of Al Fazl] and expressed that he had said those couplets a long time ago. The two couplets are as follows:
منتیں كیں ہزار ساقى كى
پر نہ دى اس نے ہمكو باقى كى
[I made a thousand requests to my beloved (God) but He has not yet fulfilled my desire.]
سر میں پیدا نہ كرتے جوش جنوں
گر نہ تھى كوئى رہ تلاقى كى
[I would not have gotten extremely passionate, but there was no other way to meet (Him).]
28 October 1921
Change in the speed of the moon
News about the moon has been published in the past days that, “Observing the recent lunar eclipse, Dr Kremen [كریمبن] has made an astonishing discovery at the Greenwich Observatory that on the said occasion, the moon was about 12 miles ahead of its estimated position. He has expressed that the said change has occurred slowly over the last 30 years. Therefore, all the estimated calendars have gone wrong. Consequently, the calendar of 1923 has been revised.”
Mentioning this, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“This extraordinary change has taken place in the speed of the moon. The moon also refers to the kingdom of Islam. Hence, it can be said that this rapid change may signify as an apparent sign of the progress of Islam, and the estimation made about the beginning of the occurrence of this change starts from around the time when the lunar eclipse took place as a sign for the Promised Messiahas because that lunar eclipse took place in 1311 AH.
“Moreover, perhaps this [sudden change] is the first step towards the shooting of the stars, the falling of which is a sign of the advent of the Promised Messiahas.”
Earth’s movement and Christianity
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“Once upon a time, the evaluation of faith and disbelief was based on the aforesaid matters.
“When a person found out that the sun does not move but the earth moves, he wrote books about it and passed away. Hundreds of years later, his books made an impact, and Galileo, who invented the telescope, said that what that person said was true and no one could deny that. The Christian clergy issued edicts of disbelief against him. He was an influential man, so he could not succumb to the whims of the clergy, but his associates were burned in fire. The reason given was that they [clergy] said that the primary purpose of all the creation was man and therefore mankind should dwell on the most superior planet and so the earth was the greatest of all the planets. [They said] that how was it possible for the earth to be on one hand the greatest planet and then also revolve around the sun? If the earth would be considered to be moving, it would become insignificant, and when the earth would be insignificant, man would also be considered insignificant. That was false [in their view]. Therefore, to believe that the earth was moving was disbelief. On the said basis, the people were seized and burned, and Galileo was imprisoned. In prison, he wrote a letter of repentance, which was in the form of a dialogue. In it, he raises the question as to why did he change the idea of the earth being static, what was the reason behind it. Then he answers it that, ‘As observation has proved that the earth moves, so he has changed his mind.’ Then he says that, ‘Since the word of God [Bible] has contradicted it, the observation has no significance before the word of God and reason has no part in the word of God. Hence, though it has been proven that the earth moves and this has also been observed through the telescope, I would still say that satan has taken over the telescope and what is being witnessed is against the word of God.’
“The clergy was furious that it was not a letter of repentance, but more of a publicity of his idea.
“The clergy also issued edicts of disbelief against those who believed that the earth was round. They said that the Bible would become invalid if it was accepted, because it [Bible] said that the earth was flat.
“The way in which the clergy unanimously issued edicts of disbelief on such matters, the Muslims did not do so on any particular issue, i.e. all the scholars [of Muslims] never unanimously issued a particular edict.”
Unsolvable matters
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“There are some matters in the world that cannot be solved. For example, the common people have raised the question of whether the chicken came first or the egg. If we keep discussing this matter, we would never come to conclusion. Thus, certain people who were interested in argumentation took up similar issues that were unsolvable and started arguing on them, which was absolutely absurd and nonsensical. This is what philosophical debates are all about. The same is true of the discussion of soul and matter. It is impossible for the mind to believe that nothing existed at all and then suddenly came into being. In the same way, one cannot believe that something existed eternally, but it had no beginning. Such matters can never be solved and philosophers get involved in such debates because if their debates are over then who will lend them an ear, because they have nothing to do with constructive work, as the Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Enough debate has taken place, start working now.’ Hence, they are involved in such debates that are never solved.
The Promised Messiahas had a unique approach towards such matters. It was that those matters which are beyond reason and thought should be asked of God Almighty. Before doing that, one should understand the reality of His Supreme Being and believe in His attributes. Then, those matters which are under His attributes should be accepted and those which are against them should be left. In this way, there is nothing left unsolved. This could be understood by the example of a patwari [an official who keeps land records in a village]. He declares a centre point for measuring [a piece of land] and then measures [the land] on the basis of it, which then turns out to be accurate. In the same way, one should make God Almighty the centre [of everything] and observe if the said matters are in accordance with His attributes or not. If they are, then they should accept them and if they are not, then they should let them go.”
Sheikh Abdur Rahman Sahib Misri submitted that there were clear mantar [passages] in the Vedas against the eternal existence of matter.
Huzoor[ra] said:
“Certainly, the Promised Messiahas has opted this method too and that is to present the claim and argument from your own religious book. On this basis, there should be a discussion with the Aryans and they should be persuaded through their book.”
Bai‘at
The following friends took bai‘at:
1. Imtiazul Hassan Jhanjhanvi, student of Ahmadiyya Madrasa [Qadian]
2. Sher Khan, servant in Tank, Waziristan
3. Chiraghuddin, Talwandi Khajoorwali, District Gujranwala
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original Urdu in the 7 and 10 November 1921 issue of Al Fazl)